Welcome to Reality!
by You are my Math
Summary: What if it was all an act? What if it were just a drama and what they actually do is to memorise their scripts, act it out, pretend to find Sasuke the entire time! And, make the fans break loose to their fan service couples! What if the real world was never close to the idea of Ninja world? What if they have their own life to think the hell of behind the scenes? AU.
1. all hell breaks loose

**Welcome to Reality!**

by: you are my math

this is not part of the script!

It's lights, camera, and action for the casts of the well-loved series Naruto Shippūden. With all the fighting scenes, unbelievable stunts, and epic CGI visual effects, who could have thought that ninja world would be far, far different from reality.

Because other than giving their fans of what they want—fan service couples, endless love triangles, unexpected plot twists—Naruto, and the rest of the casts have their own lives to think about.

And, it's not about saving Sasuke all throughout.

* * *

 _"Cut!"_

Hoarse, loud, and annoying, Hinata who has been in the middle of it all, rolls her eyes for the umpteenth time she could remember. A sigh of utter defeat escapes through her lips afterwards, as she folds her arms across her chest, looking somewhat—no, almost, beyond annoyed.

"What is it this time?" She asks, careful but cruel.

She's not having any of it already. One wrong move, and she might even call a break from this. But being professional is on her name, so she cools down, settles down her tensed shoulders, and allows herself to listen to him for a hundredth time of that day.

"Hinata, my darling, your emotions won't fit in to the mood."—she feels Naruto cuts a glance toward her, she ignores it.—"you're saving your beloved Naruto-kun here. Try to put more effort, express your greatest terror."

She breathes in, and finally compels herself to look back at Naruto, who immediately looks away after seeing her glancing back at him.

"We'll focus on your eyes, Hinata-chan, make this impressive like before. Get it rolling, Hanashi." The director ends with a high note, pointing to one of his cameramen on the set, and Hinata couldn't be happier to think that it already ends.

She gathers herself altogether once more; she wets her lips, and sighs again. For one last time, she takes a glimpse at Naruto who has been lying down with his stomach on the dusty ground. Artificial iron rods connect to his getup, as if to make an illusion that it pierces through him.

He looks up at her, despite the soft glares that she throws at him, small smile of assurance quirking up into his lips. "You can do it." He says.

For all the reason there is, Hinata pretends not to hear his words upon that loud: _"action!"_ of the man behind the set.

A huge, concocted explosion blasted across the field. Next to Naruto, Pein, the actor who plays the antagonist on the episode, is quickly hoisted up by two ropes securely attached around him. He flawlessly lands square on his feet on the ground, a few meters away from the two.

"Reinforcement, huh?"

"I won't let you lay another finger on Naruto-kun!" She cries out, returning the same amount of glare to the man in front of them.

Never intending to waste any more time upon the perfect execution of her words, Naruto seizes his chance. "What are you doing? Get out of here! You're no match—"

"I know." She quickly counters. She pauses halfway through, and steals a glance at him, not that it is needed, but she just lets it be. Naruto waits, as their eyes momentarily meet one another, and for a second there, he almost thought that she had forgotten her lines.

"I'm just being selfish."

"What are you talking about? What are you doing here? It's dangerous!"

There's a cling of silence, before she finds the words again. "I'm here on my own free will... I... I used to always cry, and give up... I nearly went the wrong way. But you, you showed me the right way. I was always chasing you, wanting to overtake you. I just wanted to walk with you..."

And almost imperceptible, Naruto's keenness towards her never misses the chance to see how her fingers curl against the fabric of her sweater. She looks... somewhat... real at that moment. He wonders deep if she was still the Hinata they both had rehearsed before that he sees in there.

For some reason, he nearly wants to believe the words that she is about to say next. But he shoves away his thoughts, and concentrates more on his character.

After a gush of wind; a quiet battlefield; a hesitance, she finally says,

"—because, I love you."

and, he feels a slight tug underneath his throat—somewhere on his chest.

The genuinely distracted expression of his only adds up to his dense character, as he stares up at her, wide-eyed, and because these are just part of the script, he allows himself to be looked like that.

"Cut!"

Again.

As if he was pulled away from trance, reality hits him off square on the face. With a minimal shake of his head, he snaps out of it.

"Naruto-san, Naruto-san," his ears pick up the sound of the boy towering in front of his vision. "He calls a cut, I think it's for a break—" the blond, still fazed, and uncoordinated with his surroundings, has not heard the end of it, as it already blends in, left, at the back of his head. His sapphire blue eyes travel across the set, finding that familiar raven haired girl among them.

"She seems to be in a bad mood." He whispers, rather loudly to himself.

"Who is?"

He looks up at the boy in front, with sudden realization washing over him, he laughs it off, and begins to stand up on his feet. He wriggles off the coat, layered with artificial rods onto it, and hands it over to the boy, as he makes his way to Hinata.

"Hinata, my darling!" Daichi, the director, calls out to her; a satisfying grin on his face. "That's what I've been talking about! You looked marvelous in there. Full of love, full of feelings! Masashi would be proud of this. Just bravo—"

Hinata, without a word, briskly walks away from it, with her insanity still intact within her, she flops herself on the nearest seat at the corner of the room. At her heels is, Mayumi, her personal makeup artist.

"This is his fiftieth cut for this scene." Hinata says, wearing out already.

Mayumi doesn't bother saying anything to that, she knows better not to pique Hinata up, especially if she's not in the mood to crack some jokes or two. So she leaves the rest of it with just a nod, and a nonchalant shrug, as she continues to press a dry towel on her forehead.

"You look incredible in there."

Hinata's lavender eyes glances up at the Uzumaki. She shoots him a look—"since when I'm not?"—then goes back to Mayumi, who busies herself from refreshing the Hyūga star with light makeup , "It's okay, now. Thank you."

Mayumi takes her cue to leave, rather relieved that she could finally get away.

"Well, Hinata, my darling, hate to break it to you, but we still have to push through the last scene, that's the week's final note."

She looks over to her shoulder only to see the man nonchalantly drinking his four seasons. "Seriously? You should've told sooner. That's your fiftieth cut."

"Could you blame me, darling? Both of you," he points out to the two of them, and she dares to slip a glance at Naruto on that, only to find him shrugging it off. "Look so real, like a real couple!"

She groans, feeling a headache coming. "I can't believe this." She grumbles underneath her breath. With crossed legs, she leans back her head on the chair, easing out her frustration on the matter.

She's not usually the fastidious type, but something today really gets on her nerves, and she couldn't begin to pinpoint what it is. Half of it might be because of what has happened the days prior, the other half is probably due to stress.

Though, she is sure a huge portion of these bad vibes she's getting, might be because of the blond guy standing right beside her.

No, no, no, she refuses to dwell about it.

She sighs, tries her best to ignore the man, as she massages her nape. With her eyes closed at the process of it all, she hears the Uzumaki speaks to her again.

"Hey, you seem in a bad mood."

"Glad, you have an idea."

"Is it the time of the month? Let me treat you ramen somewhere else, yeah?"

She draws her head back forward to give him a look. A flash of perplexing gaze washes over her, and as if taken completely aback to his sudden invitation to her, she feels an immediate warmth decorating across her face.

Still, her unflinching, death glares that she throws at him has not dented even to the slightest.

She narrows more her eyes, and says, unfalteringly, "just because your girlfriend is not around, doesn't mean that I'm going to take the offer."

"Girlfriend? Who? Sakura-chan, you mean?"

"Think, I have forgotten about your—"

"She's not, she's not, okay?" He chuckles, bemused. "So yes? Because I'm not taking a no for an answer."

"Where are you taking me?"

"C'mon, you'll see. Let's go." And with that, he grabs hold of her hand, and pulls her up.

If he has been looking at her, he would have probably seen her flustered look, but then everything about her, has always been a shadow in the periphery for him.

"We'll be back in an hour!" He shouts, storming off with her after that loud thud of the door.

 _xxx_

"There are rumors going around about seeing the two of you together in Okinawa. So, can you confirm to us, who are here in the conference, are you two have finally made it official?"

The neutral smile upon her lips hardly shows any reaction onto that offhand question, just a whisper of laughter that escapes her lips, nothing more, nothing less. An utter amusement, that could be misunderstood if interpreted wrongly.

"Of course not." She denies afterwards, still, she couldn't help but smile to that. "We're just friends." She takes a glimpse of Sasuke on her side. "Yes, Sasuke-kun, and I, are friends. The respect that we have for each other is overwhelming." She tilts over to her right to catch him glancing toward her direction also; her befitting smile widens an inch. "You, guys wouldn't believe how much I treated him like a younger brother to me."

"I'm taller."

"You are two years younger than me, Sasuke-kun." She teases. "But anyway, there's no need for any public justification for all of that. What we portray in public is true, and it's up to you, guys, on how you'd perceived it, am I right, Sasuke-kun?"

He smirks at her, with a simple nod following at that. "Sakura's right. We owe no one an explanation to everything else we do."

She laughs, trying to lighten up the mood. "But of course, except for the scenes we've made last year. That's purely out of the context, and made _purely_ for the fans of SasuSaku, who after all of this, have continuously supported us even through the odds."

Sasuke inclines over, closely leaning to her to whisper. "Big words, Sakura. Big words."

Sakura spins around, and with that close proximity that they have, she could've only mischievously stuck out a tongue at him.

He smirks.

"Are you two sure!?" Someone shouts from across the crowd, and eventually people on the press begin to express their devotions for the two stars.

Sasuke drifts his attention back to them, the growing distance that parts between Sakura, and him, as he pulls himself away from her range, rises apparent dismay from the crowd.

But Sasuke, who glances at Sakura for one last time, has shut them off with a, "yes, we're sure. Nothing's going on."

Although the fans are seemingly unconvinced at the slightest of it, they choose not to push the subject through. One of the media reporter hesitantly stands up, she clears her throat, and begins. "Well, we are still certainly hoping for a miracle to happen, anyway... due to your love team's popularity,"—she enunciates—"take note, _number one_ loved couple in Asia, and even international brought by these Naruto series in Japan, how can the two of you cope with the fast changes of it? Any changes so far in your personal, individual lives?"

"It isn't new to me." Sasuke shrugs. "I must say, before Naruto even aired in Japan, I was already used to the people's admiration towards me." The Uchiha bluntly admits, which earns him a playful hit on the arm from Sakura.

"That's cocky, Sasuke-kun. Could you tune down that self-centered attitude of yours a little, will you? And stop smirking." With a huff, she returns her attention back to the press, a gracious smile tugging on the corner of her lips. "As for me, _wow_ , thank you for those endless supports. I didn't even know that we are that loved much."

"Well, it's true!"

"Ha, so to say, this phenomenon, Naruto, that we speak of, well, to be completely honest, when everyone was just starting, we have a very little idea that it'd become this big, let alone the SasuSaku tandem." There's a few moments of pause, when Sakura gathers herself to answer. "Of course, the impact was overwhelming, it felt like I was living a dream. Well, I still am, but, um, maybe, what I learned most from all of this, is to still keep yourself grounded, but at the same time, know when to trust yourself at a times of need." She laughs. "Yes, believe it!"

"You're spending so much time with that idiot." Sasuke counters.

Sakura raises a perfectly plucked brow at him, small, triumphant smile playing across her lips. "So what if I am?"

"Stuff... Sakura," he says, giving her a look. "It gets in your head, do you want that?"

" _You're annoying_." She rolls her eyes at him, smiling afterwards. "Guess that infamous line of yours prove that I should stop spending time with you."

Sasuke, as if without a care to his surroundings, playfully pinches Sakura's cheek. "Alright, chipmunk, have it your way."

"You guys are really, really close, contrary to that iconic knockout that he'd done to you on the last episode of you two together." A guy from the crowd jokes around.

And almost instantly, a loud cheer has been made following that joke, Sakura, who remains candidly dispassionate about it, watches with smiling eyes, as the room begins to fall under the cacophony of catcalls, ambiguous romantic teases, and whatnot. Despite her flawless grasp to her emotions, Sakura couldn't almost resist the urge to roll her eyes to that.

"It was on the script." Sasuke intervenes, halting down the cheers.

"Alright! How about a new project? Are you willing to work together as one to a popularized fictional book, or manga? The Heroine Shikkaku, we supposed, could be a big break to the two of you as Japan's hottest love team."

"We are not yet in the place to conclude that," Sakura smirks, "but as far as I can say to you, guys, we are currently on a project together, of course, along with Sasuke-kun's real life brother, Itachi-san, the three of us will work together," she tucks some strands of her hair on the back of her ear, as she glimpses at Sasuke to her side.

He follows her gaze; a gentle smile on his lips.

"It's one of the famous shōjo manga in Japan, and I'm so honored to be part of that project." She continues after while, her gaze briefly goes back to the crowd. "I'll leave you guys only up to that, as I can't give, at least not yet, anymore information but that."

"That's new! I'm sure it'd be a box office of the year!"

"Uchiha brothers in a movie, that's not surprising at all, considering that you've already made several first-rate movies before. But a romantic movie with Haruno-san? That's something novelty to your repertoire."

Sasuke could've only shrugged on that, somehow, he ignores the involvement of his brother to that question. He bits his lower lip, and takes time to response. "What's wrong with it?" He raises a brow at the reporter, clasping his hands together on the table. "I'm up to some challenging roles, and as far as Sakura is involved, then I'd like to have more projects with her in the future."

Taken completely aback, Sakura finds herself fumbling her purse underneath the table. She chews her inner cheek, as if to make her resist her embarrassment onto that.

And as her mind dwells with nothing but Sasuke-kun's oblivious words, she hopes—pray tell—that she isn't blushing right now. She clumsily tugs a slight pull on his leather jacket, as if to notion him to look at her.

He glances back at her.

Without much concrete plan on her head, she imitates his action instead.

And just like that, she kind of, sort of wished that she probably hadn't pulled the hem of his jacket instead.

Because, sometimes...

Sometimes... he can be completely clueless.

"You're hopeless." She whispers.

.

 _tbc_.


	2. pretentious facade

_Disclaimed. Took me long but here. Thanks for my amazing betareader - **TheSilkWriter** \- for betareading this. _

* * *

**Welcome to Reality!**

by: you are my math

 **. . .**

 _x._

 **Piqued, but entirely amused** , her glossed lips draw into a sarcastic smirk as her finger scrolls across the screen of her phone. It halts for a moment when something on the screen catches her attention; she makes a derisive snort, before her eyes trail through it again.

"Look at these people fighting over a drama," she murmurs to herself.

"What are you looking at?" A sinister whisper comes from behind her.

She doesn't even turn around to regard him. "These," she replies nonchalantly, groaning slightly from the nibble on her ear she's received from him. "That's too hard; I'll kick your ass."

"Who cares," his seductively hoarse voice rings through her ear.

She snarls as the cold shiver crawls beneath the skin on her neck.

"Stop looking at those things; we all know that you and him would never be a thing in reality. Because..." He trails off, smirking. "You and I are a blind item that can't be separated."

"You are an asshole from head to toe…You know that? Stop nibbling my ear."

He blows feather-like kisses onto her neck, before hopping down in complete and utter satisfaction. "What? All these jerks do is bash the hell out of you! Can't they see that you don't even give a flying-crap? You have me," he defends, buttoning the long sleeves of his white dress shirt as he speaks. "And while we're at it, how many times are you going to use that _kitty-xx_ account in order to stalk people that speak ill of you?"

"As many times as I want…It's fun!" She comments, still not even bothering to look at him. "You should try."

He snorts. "It looks stupid; I sure wouldn't." He assesses himself in front of the mirror, and by the time he finishes the act of straightening out his shirt, his girlfriend is already at his heel, pulling him close by his untied necktie.

"You are not nearly close to the character you portray," she mutters while crossing the wide end of his tie over the other and setting it in the right place. "Ever." She stresses.

"Yes, I am. Even without scripts, I get to annoy the living hell out of you."

She reaches behind his collar, and uncurls it with her fingertips. And as if appearing content with her work—with a last tap onto his chest—she glances at him. Ruby eyes gradually soften against his chalcedony.

"Let's go to a nice restaurant after your interview," she says. "Give me a kiss."

He ruffles her messy red hair with his large hand as he complies. He kisses her on the cheek. "Dress as gorgeous as you can. Show the media that you're dating someone named Hozuki." He smirks, and before she throws a fit, he exits her apartment, leaving her there flabbergasted and red.

 _x._

 **She has seen him before** —somewhere. She just couldn't pinpoint exactly where or when she had met him before. He has a close resemblance to someone she'd seen on the television when she was skimming through the channels one lazy, Sunday morning while her boyfriend prepared breakfast.

"He's doing it again," she mutters to herself as she gazes out her window to her front yard.

Every other day, this mystery man would always, always—at 11 am on her watch—park this Lexus branded vehicle of his in front of her apartment, blocking the sunlight from shining through her windows.

Not that she's sensitive or selfish to that extent, but that man hardly cares if he were terrorizing the beautiful lawn of someone else, so, she makes her move. Coughing purposely loud in order to catch his attention, she raises a brow at him. And he, in return, stares blankly at her.

"Can I help you?" He asks.

She snorts, considering it as a backwards approach since this is her property in the first place; and he's intruding on it.

Her lips press into a genuinely sharp smile. "Absolutely, sir..." She trails off suddenly, as if it hits her on whom exactly this person is. She thought she'd seen him before already—that proves why he seems a tad bit familiar to her—with the ponytailed hair and dull, obsidian eyes.

"…You could," she adds to her statement, her ruby eyes studying him. "But before that, may I ask who you are visiting here for?"

While deemed as a fact that they haven't yet worked together, still, he is in the same series as her. Their work only differs on the time and people they mostly associate with.

"My ex-girlfriend," he replies honestly. "Is she here?"

The woman could only wonder deeply about that. Currently, the place the man speaks of is unrented. Of course, that is only based on what she assumes, considering that she spends more of her time at home nowadays.

"It's unoccupied," she states. "I haven't been aware of the tenant's info. What's her name?"

He sends her a look of disbelief, mostly taken aback at how blunt this woman is. But his expression gradually simmers down to its normal, relaxed state as he pays her an answer. "Tsuchi." He pauses. "Kin Tsuchi."

Realization dawns on her as she recalls the old tenant. "Oh, her? She moved to the states; I think."

His expression softens at that and turns gloomy.

The air becomes heavy. And although she doesn't want to ease down from this quiet battle, the inward tears of the man have her feeling compelled to.

Instead of focusing on their present predicament, she decides to confront him on the issue at hand. "Now that I've helped you, can you move your car? It's blocking the sun, and it's on my property."

He glances to the side and discovers his mistake. He instantly goes back to his car and starts the engine, and drives it off of her property.

He stops his Lexus in front of the dumbfounded redhead whose arms are currently folded over her chest.

"Thanks for letting me know, Uzumaki Karin-san—is it? I know who you are."

A crooked smile spreads across her face. "Good thing then, thought you would've figured it out eventually. I expect you won't be careless of parking over my property, instead of your ex-girlfriend's next time, Nara-san."

"That won't happen again," he complies quickly. "I'll see you around."

Karin watches as he drives away. She sighs, silently wishing that the hidden media weren't as sneaky as they are now. They'd probably spread rumors about the two of them being a couple; since he had been at her place. And although her boyfriend wasn't all that bothered by the tabloids; she certainly was.

"Those media people," she thinks, "are terribly nasty." She huffs once more, and goes back inside her apartment.

 _x._

 **The clunking sound of a plate** being placed onto their table makes her focus her lavender eyes to the huge, mischievous grin on his face. She studies the gleam in his sapphire blue eyes while their food is being served to them.

Withdrawn to herself and seated on the seat across from him, she reasons that the only issue pending is the ability to say the word: no to him. Because while he's not a simple-minded person, unlike how people portray him, she doesn't want to ruin the excitement of this twenty-two year old, success-bringer from eating a food particularly rich in carbohydrates.

Piercing him with her soft gaze, she sighs.

Once he's finished admiring his preciously awaited ramen, he glances over to her—his smile unwavering. "Go on. Start eating while it's still hot. It's on me this time," he invites, waving a hand to display.

Casting him a stern look that he's become immune to receiving, she picks up her chopsticks and stirs her noodles. "How many times do I have to tell you that I've had enough of ramen?" she reminds him, voice monotonous.

He slurps down a few noodles before replying, "you're just hungry. You don't know what you're saying."

She sneers in disbelief. "You never listen, do you?"

He merely shrugs, savoring himself in the delectable treat of his favorite food.

Hinata watches him ambiguously, letting herself slightly loose in his presence. "Who eats hot noodles in summer?" She mutters absentmindedly.

If he has heard her, he doesn't dwell on her words. "Don't you think it's nice, though? The movie is a big hit," he says, twirling his chopsticks in front of her.

"Can't you think of anything else to talk about besides work?" She secretly hopes that he will bring up the topic of his current mental state.

But he doesn't take the hint. "It's just nice, you know?" He leans back. "Thinking about it makes me feel appreciated—oh, seriously…C'mon, stop pouting! Smile, silly, show the world you're as cute as I know you to be."

She takes a deep breath to show compliance, but resents underneath.

"See? If you weren't that much of a hard to please person, I would've fallen in love with you," he jokes, making the woman he's with blush furiously at his remark both in embarrassment and in frustration…Because he's still hiding himself.

Slipping past the fluster, he looks over her seemingly untouched ramen on the table. He catches her as she nit-picks a piece of cured fish surimi and places it on the empty plate next to her bowl.

"Hey, you don't want me?" He blurts out suddenly.

"Never did," she replies, shrugging in nonchalance.

"Ouch, I would've definitely picked the latter to the double-meaning of those words," he replies as he stifles a laugh.

She quickly shoots her head towards him, a hint of blush still evident on her cheeks. "Stop flirting, will you?" She demands, because she knows what he's trying to hide.

"What?" He asks innocently, then proceeds to laugh uncontrollably for a while. "Okay, okay, it was the fish, Hinata."

"I know."

He picks the fish up off her plate, and scrutinizes it for a second, before asking, "You don't eat this stuff? It's tasty."

She stares blankly at him.

His blue eyes widen in shock. "Have you never tasted it before? You should try it! C'mon." He speaks enthusiastically, and brings the fish close to her mouth in an attempt to force her to open it, but she beats him to it.

"Don't you dare." Her voice is firm, threatening, and endearing for some reason; he notes.

His mouth utters a few words—"I was just kidding"—then he drops the subject.

He pushes the fish into his mouth instead, and continues eating.

"Anyway," he says while grabbing his drink and turning his gaze back to her, "I heard you'll be homeschooled again. Can't seem to pick up the pace with all these complicated schedules?" He teases lightly.

She seems to have been expecting this kind of question from him as she tilts her head to the side. "Wrong. Whose reliable source was that?"

He shrugs. "Someone, somewhere…So, you're not going back to school or something? You're nineteen, and you still have one last year of high school to complete."

Tucking her long raven locks behind her ear, she leans forward and focuses her full attention on him. The soft contours of her lightly-powdered face, which is free of any blemishes; radiates in close contact, and the blond eventually finds himself swallowing down water that seems to swell up in his throat.

For as long as he has known her, he has gotten used to her bratty-like attitude and unfriendly quips, contrary to how she acted when the camera started rolling. But this is the first time he notices how genuinely innocent her appearance is up close. At least, this is the first time that he's paid sincere attention to it.

"After this, I'm planning to go to Paris to study," she engages him rather solemnly. "I'll take up fashion design, and eventually build my own line..."

Helplessly wordless, he finds himself drowning within the anchor of her gaze as it is placed upon him.

And then she adds, unfaltering in her words: "I'm quitting acting soon."

To say, surprise, is a gross understatement. That wasn't what he was expecting to hear from her.

"Anything else but that," he mutters to himself as her words echo throughout his head.

There's a variety of things he could say, but before he can muster up the courage to say anything—somebody else beats him to it.

"Naruto-san! Hinata-san!"

He's compelled to look to his right side, and sees a group of teenagers coming closer to where they were seated. "Can we have your autographs?"

"I-uh, sure!" Grinning, he reaches forth to his fans. "Lemme sign those—"

"He can't," the raven-haired woman interjects. "We're sorry, but we have somewhere else to be. Let's go," she says, and stands up. Hinata walks away briskly, leaving him there.

Naruto is left flabbergasted as he watches her retreating figure. "I'm really, really sorry, girls. We're just on a break from the set and we need to head back now. Spare Hinata-chan from this, okay? She's just tired. I'll see you all!" He exits, bowing at them in the process.

He traces his coworker's footsteps to the parking lot, and opens the passenger door of the car for her once he's caught up with her. "Hey, what's up?" he ask with concern in his bright blue eyes.

She ignores him, throwing herself into the car.

The blond goes around the car and opens the driver's door. He settles down into the driver's seat.

He waits halfheartedly for her response as he turns his key in the ignition. "Just speak your mind, okay? I'll listen, honest. I know that something has been bothering you ever since we started filming- that's why you acted like that in front of your fans." He glances at her. "But I'll wait for you to open up."

She glares in front of her. What's bothering her is that something in particular is bothering him, and he's choosing not saying anything. She secretly wishes he would speak up and be honest with his feelings.

The entire drive takes on an eerily quiet setting.

He throws it out there, with occasional stolen glances at her, and simple attempts to converse. But knowing her of course, she doesn't take the bait.

It feels like hours have passed, before she finally sighs in defeat. Hinata speaks quietly, "Earlier, you didn't even bother listening to me—and now you tell me that?"

Spark from her response, and his mischievous nature returns as he replies somewhat teasingly, "You know very well that I can't hear you when you talk like that, Hinata."

She glowers at him in the dark, and then huffs in her slight embarrassment.

"I said, _'drive fast,'_ " she stresses. "It's past one o'clock, and he'll be mad that we're late on set."

.

 _tbc._


	3. plot twist

_Disclaimed. Thanks again for - **TheSilkWriter** \- for being a nice betareader. _

* * *

**Welcome to Reality!**

by: you are my math

 **. . .**

 _x._

 **It wasn't because of the mood** \- she tells herself.

Or because to the beats of her frenzied heart that was beating fast against her chest, and telling her to oblige and to relax in the sanctuary of silence that enslaves her to assume something more.

Of course, she didn't think that sneaking out on a Saturday night (when everyone else is in their deep slumber) with someone like him could be deemed the wisest decision— _no_.

But at least it is a moment worth taking a risk for.

"Where are we going?" She asks after a long, deafening silence, as she hugs herself against the warmth of her sweater.

He casts her a glance. A sincere gentle smile lifting across his lips. "Just relax. You'll see," he states in a languid humor.

"Mhm," she hums, nodding.

She leans to her right side to feel the gush of wind blowing through the open window of the car. She smiles in utter contentment, and somehow, she lets herself take ease at the moment.

Who would have thought that traveling together in the stillness of the night with someone she likes was something that is actually attainable?

She glances at him with her soft stare. "This is your first time you invite me out for a drive."

He chuckles in soft, quiet sound that suddenly engages her heart. "Why?" He asks. "Is this your first time to rebel?"

"No," she says, as she closes her eyes to feel the soft touch of the wind on her face. "But you do know that we have to film again tomorrow," she looks at him again with her smiling eyes, and as if to tease, she continues, "and we're not here for a vacation." She humors him.

"Hn, you shouldn't stress yourself too much."

Taken by surprise, she quickly controls the feeling bubbling up within her. Those gentle words he let goes off, surely, would create presumptions within her. She sighs in defeat, nearly breathless at the tableau. He looks even more appealing in shadows of the car.

"You did great anyway at the set." He says, briefly glancing to her for a second, before he finds the words to speak again, "...your leading man is already fast asleep in his room."

She snorts, and smirks at his comment. "Yeah, he looks real tired. Are you, too?"

"Am I that transparent?" He spews her a smile, all while giving her a tender look, as if to appreciate her. And then Itachi continues, "no, not anymore, Sakura."

Sakura knows deep in herself that she's just a woman - a woman who is hopelessly in love with him. But what could she do when she is left stunned at what he says. She reminds herself that it is near impossible to fall even more in love with him.

And even if this drive into the unknown gives her a foothold to stand on, still, she wouldn't torment her heart with things she couldn't have.

At least that is what she always tell to herself.

She subsides in melancholy to drown herself to the idea that makes her hope of something more, until he starts to speak once again. "We're here."

She complies to look up because of his voice.

Seemingly perplexed, she asks in her meek voice. "In the mountains?"

"Yes." He unbuckles his seatbelt, and opens his door to get out of the car. He strolls around the car to open the door for her. He takes her hand, as he leads her way down in the middle of an empty road.

For some reason, the chills of the night were overcame by the warmth that hold her hand right now.

"Why did you bring me here?" she asks, careful not to sound as if she wants this to have an ulterior motive. She buries the notion that whisper to her to withdraw her hand from his. So she lets it be.

He graces her a simple acknowledgement. "Beautiful..."

Her breathe suddenly hitches, and she turns her head quickly to look at him.

"...The stars. Look up."

If it weren't for his added words, she would've thought the compliment was directed at her.

She doesn't bother to utter a word, and willingly obliges - only to be left stunned at what she sees above.

"I heard that this is the perfect place to see them - between the mountains on the seventh of July. The festival of stars..."

"Altair, and Vega..." she echoes. "It's so quiet, and away from the city." She says, then she looks at him. "I'm glad you take me to see them first instead of Sasuke," she adds half-teasingly.

"Of course, don't you like seeing the Milky Way? You've said it before that you'd die to see it." His words were refined, flawless, well-mannered.

"You were paying attention..." She whispers with a smile.

Feeling the need to defend himself, he turns his head to give her a look that has a deeper meaning. "To you?" He asks, then adds, "I always do."

And if she'd just let herself fuse with the moment, and borrow a bit of her mother's wit, she might've taken his compliment differently. But that isn't the case. So, with a wave of her hand, she dismisses the words, laughs it off, and never does touch the tender subject of ' _what ifs._ '

"Should we go back now?"

"Do you want to go back now?" He questions back.

There's a hesitation; a gulp; but in the end, she shakes her head: no.

"Then let's stay here a little bit longer." He smiles.

 _x._

 **"Come on!** Get your lazy bum out of the bed, young lady!"

She ignores him, entangling herself even more within in the covers of her bed.

"My goodness, Sakura!" Akio, her road manager, yanks her comforter off of her. "Just wake the hell up! Why are you still sleeping at this hour? Have you forgotten that we're not here for a vacation? It's for the film—the movie! Now get the hell up, and get yourself ready. Come on, young lady, wash up!" He says and pushes her towards the hotel's bathroom.

"Yes, yes - I'm getting up. Pass me my towel."

He rolls his eyes. "Can't you just use the one in there? They've provided those for a cause, sweetie."

"I'll always have my own."

Muttering simple word of: "whatever," he scans his eyes around the room and finds her towel next to the couch. Snatching it up, he calls out to her. "Catch!"

She does so and then instantly disappears into the bathroom.

He shakes his head as he reaches for her eye mask on the bed, and places it onto the nightstand. "What were you even doing last night that you didn't go to sleep early?" He asks nonchalantly, making her bed for her.

"Sneaking out," Sakura responds immediately from the other side of the room.

It wasn't what he was expecting to hear.

"You— _what_?" He screeches. "As in outside of the hotel?"

"Yes, I snuck out as stealthily as I could." She replies, confidently. Akio could only hope for the best of it.

"I thought it would be my most grave mistake, turns out I was wrong. It was one of the best fairytale-like date I've had. Not that it was really a date; it wasn't a date, of course. I just like to assume it that way, and—"

"Just wait a second, there, young lady," Akio says, interrupting her thoughts and waving a finger in the air. "You went out with someone? Are you out of your mind?" He shrieks, fanning himself from the stress. "We are in the middle of nowhere. Just what would you do if that person you were with last night sold you? My goodness, the director would sue me if I let his most valued actress out in the wild - unaccompanied!"

Pressing a towel to her face, the pink haired girl gives him a look. "Akio, you're so dramatic—"

"Only because you happen to be his favorite."

"I only went out with Itachi-san."

Her manager stops halfway from stressing out, as if to understand. "Oh." He pauses, and analyzes her statement. "Uchiha-san...I see." He glances at her when realization hits him. "So...you guys snuck out? In the middle of the night. And just where the hell did you guys go?"

Sakura rolls her eyes when she sees his smile becomes shrewd. "I know what you're thinking. Please stop!" She cries.

"What? Oh come on, don't play pretend. So did he tell you that he likes you? Because we all know you harbor this thing we call hopelessness for him since goodness knows when - I can't remember already!" He squeals, looking at her. "So where did he take you last night? Because I can't think of any fancy places he'd take you to in the middle of these isolated mountains."

Sighing contently, she whispers, "he took me to see the stars." Dreamy eyes glisten as she recalls the happenings of last night.

And as if he comes to a conclusion, he nods consecutively - unconvinced by her. "Yeah, stars, my darling, very funny. Stop daydreaming and pick up the pace! I'll go call your makeup artist now."

"What—" feeling somehow offended by that, she retorts, "I wasn't even trying to be funny. Honestly, I..."

"Yes, for the sake of hearing the end of this, I believe you. Now, run along. Because I am well aware that your leading man, _'Uchiha-san,'_ is already waiting for your lazy bum outside."

Sakura smiles dreamily while picking-out her outfit from the closet.

"Sasuke-kun can wait."

 _x._

 **He doesn't like waiting.**

Biting back the uncharacteristically strings of incoherent murmurs, he frowns - frustrated. He dislikes the idea of sitting in the middle of nowhere, and tapping his fingers on the wooden table. He scans his eyes through the field, hoping to see a blur of pink across the picture as people bustle around while carrying supplies for the set.

"Hey," a familiar voice sounds next to him, as the person slides a cup coffee over to him. "Have you had breakfast yet?"

Pulling the cup of hot liquid to him, he acknowledges him, "not yet. Have you?"

The older one merely shrugs at the question as he takes the other seat. "Breakfast would be nice, but at this hour, I'd rather go back to the hotel and sleep." He pauses, his voice deliberate. "But you should go have breakfast. The set looks ready," he says, casting a look over his shoulder to the people scurrying behind them. "And I think we'll start in a couple of minutes."

The younger one stretches his legs out underneath the table, making himself comfortable as he leans back and takes his time in his response. "Sakura isn't here yet. I doubt it will start without her." He finally speaks after a couple of seconds.

While taking a sip of his coffee, Sasuke notices how his older brother, Itachi, slowly smiles at that.

"Hn, really?" His voice is somewhat mischievous, as if hinting something. "I supposed that was because of my mistake last night."

Sasuke almost sputters out his coffee. If it hadn't been for his flawless grasp on everything that could bring surprise, he would have spit-out all of the liquid in his mouth.

" _What_?"

Nonetheless, Itachi reads through it.

"That was inappropriate, Sasuke. I know what you're thinking."

"No," Sasuke defends. "I was...that was just—" unable to find any other words, he speaks: "quick." He instantly regrets his word choice. And Itachi's amused expression doesn't offer him any solice. "I mean, what did you guys do?"

Itachi lifts a brow at him, a teasing smirk playing across his lips. "We went for a drive." He says finally, after the pressuring anticipation.

Sasuke releases the sigh he's been repressing. "Ah." And then he nods. He throws the silent notion of looking as if an idiot for reacting like that.

"Sasuke-kun!" His ears instantly pick up the sound of his name being called.

 _'Speak of the—'_ he thinks.

"Sakura!" He raises his hand to indicate her to come over.

Once she's standing across from them, Sasuke notices how she suddenly grows self-conscious at the atmosphere. His pensive, unwavering expression silently watches her. He swallows in irritation when he notices how the young woman briefly ascends her gaze to the man beside him. They seem to look at each other longer.

And for some reason, he feels uncomfortable being in the midst of the heavy air forming between the two of them.

"Good morning, Itachi-san." Sakura finally says - half bowing at him.

Unbeknownst to himself, Sasuke's dark brows furrow at the scene.

The latter smiles back at her: "Good morning, Sakura-san."

Having had enough, Sasuke sneers and stands up. "I'm going to get breakfast now," he notifies abruptly. He ignores his brother's gaze on him along with Sakura's questioning look at his sudden announcement. They didn't need to know what he was going to do - he scolds himself.

 _'What's with the growing tension?'_ He ponders as he walks away briskly. He ignores the concept of how coy her smile is for Itachi. She never does that, not for anybody, not for anyone else, not... Until just moments a while.

"Tch." He clicks his tongue.

He's suddenly not in the mood for anything - but they didn't need to know that.

They didn't need to know that the reason he left is because he was uncomfortable when he saw them together. They didn't need to know, that just because Sakura says his name first, didn't mean that she favors him more than Itachi. They also didn't need to know that he can read through their actions— _no_ , scratch that, only Itachi didn't need to know that.

He wonders why such small things like these can pique him off so much. But mostly, he wants to deny the fact that Itachi may have probably found a soft part for Sakura.

He huffs in frustration, and picks up his pace. Deep within—no matter how much he puts past it—all he knew is, the concept of _them_ doesn't sit right to him.

.

 _tbc._

* * *

 _note : i'll update again once my exams are done. :)_


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